


The Clock Struck 12

by Izwedgw8



Category: Cinderella (2015), Cinderella (Fairy Tale)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:49:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29679375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izwedgw8/pseuds/Izwedgw8
Summary: Ella must escape the Palace garden before the stroke of midnight, leaving the Prince, her Kit, at the ball. She decides to leave him with a bit more information than just her shoe.Rewrite from ball to reunion of Kit and Ella. Let's be honest, they deserve better than a shoe as a way to get back to each other. A few twist and turns will try to get in their way. The sweet fairytale heart wrench we love of a couple that are full of goodness and just meant to be. Based on 2015 film.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

Ella could not understand how the world slept when, staring into the Prince’s eyes, she felt more alive than she’d been since before her mother’s death. There was no breeze. The stars sparkled beautifully, but from an impassable distance overhead. Even the branches and leaves of the great oak tree were quiet, despite the gentle sway of the swing she occupied. Kit’s walled garden was so secret that she thought maybe the plants themselves had forgotten that they grew there. She found power in hoping, as was her way, that by sharing the garden on this magical night it might be encouraged to come alive again. Surely the energy she could feel (the fluttering of her heart, the blush on her cheeks and the tingling of her fingers) must be flowing into everything around her. Suspended in this moment, Ella knew she could find happiness again. Second by second, it was dawning on her that this dream, this night, this garden and this Prince… it could be her reality. 

BONG!

The first stroke of the midnight bell tolled. Ella blinked, sharply breathing in. Giving her head a slight shake, she broke out from her trance. She had to go. Glancing back down at Kit, she saw his brow begin to knit together in confusion.   
‘I’m so sorry I have to leave.’ Ella hurriedly apologized. She stood up and almost lost her balance as the swing wobbled at her sudden movement. Kit followed suit, rising to stand from where he had been kneeling on the grass. 

‘I… I don’t understand … is something… did I do something wrong?’ he spluttered as he watched her being to walk around him, making for the arch out of the garden. Ella paused. This man in front of her, this compassionate man, whom she was certain would be a great King, still doubted himself. In the tension of his shoulders and the anxiety of his eyes, she was reminded of the deer in the woods. She could see his future as the strong and majestic stag, but more importantly, she saw him in the present - the tottering, young deer still finding the confidence to take its next step. Ella couldn’t run without any explanation. She could not let him blame himself for something entirely out of his control. So, using up precious seconds she did not have, she turned back to him and said:  
‘No, you’ve been awfully kind, and I’ve had the most wonderful night. I loved every minute!’ As the clock chimed for second time, she made it to the gate.

‘But…wait! Where are you going?’ Kit managed to call after her. He still stood perplexed next to the swing. His mind was struggling to adjust to the sudden turn of events. He had enjoyed her company so much; her laugh was intoxicating, and he’d never felt so safe talking to anyone. There was no politics or schemes behind her words. She spoke honestly but always kindly. It was such a hard thing to do, and yet, she seemed to manage it effortlessly. As crazy as it may seem to anyone else in the kingdom, he truly believed that she had come to the ball for the apprentice and that she would have been more than content to be ignored by the Prince and spend the evening with the boy from the forest. 

‘I can’t… It’s hard to explain… lizards and pumpkins and… things.’ As her voice became faint, Kit thought he was mishearing things. Pumpkins? And… lizards? What? Just who was this girl? And with the realisation that he would never find out by standing next to the swing, he set off running after her while the bell rang for a third time.

Making her way between the rose bushes, Ella almost wished she were wearing a different dress. No could argue against it being the most exquisite one at the ball, but the skirts were heavy, and Ella feared tripping over them in her heels. She heard the bell chime again (was that four? Five? She had lost count) as she dived down a different path which looked like it headed towards to brightly lit windows of the ballroom. Circling around and ornamental fountain, she thought she heard the crunch of another pair of feet on the gravel path behind her. Then, without warning, there was a splash to her right and something grabbed her wrist. She staggered a few steps turning to look at what had she’d caught herself on. 

Her jaw dropped. Stood in a pool of water up to his ankles, leaning over the side towards her and panting out of breath was Kit. Well, Ella thought, I suppose one short cut would have been to go through the fountain. ‘Can I at least know your name?’ he begged. She could not refuse him.  
‘Ella. It’s Ella.’  
‘…Your Highness Ella…’ As the Prince attempted to bow to her while still standing at the base of the fountain Ella could not help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. The moment was cut short by the eighth toll of the bell.   
‘Just Ella. I am not a Princess.’ At these words, Kit’s mood sobered just a little. ‘Now, please I must go... I… promised someone I would be home at midnight.’ He could hear the panic rising in her voice and saw how her eyes darted more frantically from exit to exit. Kit let go of her wrist.   
‘But… yes, of course. Follow that path. It will take you directly to the stables.’   
‘Thank you so much!’ 

As much as he wanted her to stay, Kit told himself he could respect her decision to leave. He watched her retreating figure down the path for as long as he could, until she was eventually swallowed by the blackness of the night. Finally, he became aware how cold his feet felt. He looked down and was slightly surprised to find himself still in the pool of the fountain. Stepping over the side and onto the path Kit tried to piece together how he’d gotten there. Then, with a goofy smile, he decided he didn’t care because he’d spent a magical evening dancing and talking to a girl called Ella.

The clock struck twelve.


	2. The escape

The clock had struck twelve. 

By the time Ella made it to the stables, she was wearing her mother’s pink dress. It was easy for her to identify where her horses and carriage must have been kept because it was the only space in the stalls. She hurried over and anxiously called out for her friends. It was hard to see in the long shadows cast by the torches on the walls. She remained confident nonetheless that her friends would still be here. Turning the corner of the stall she saw them sat on a hay bale. 

‘Come on my friends it’s time to go.’ She whispered to them as she untied a horse from the neighbouring stall. The mice began to squeak. ‘Shhhh be quiet please.’ She implored them but they continued to run in circles and scratch at the hay. Conscious of being caught, Ella asked again ‘Shhhh what is it? Hang on…. Where’s Gus?’. Now that she had come closer, Ella could see there were only three mice. She hoped Gus hadn’t gone far. There could be other animals walking round the stables too and she knew they would be more than happy to chase him or to eat him. Feeling something soft rub against her ankle, she worried one of the cats might already have found them. With a sigh of relief, she saw it was her friend. ‘Oh Gus I was getting worried about you!’. Taking off her shoe she gestured for him to get in. 

Once Gus was safely stowed away, she let the other mice and the lizards crawl into the shoe. The geese were too large, so, she decided they would have to sit in front of her on the horse so she could hold them. That left Ella with the second shoe and no hand in which to hold it. She hated the idea of parting with it – they had been her mother’s glass slippers after all; but what else could she do? She definitely could not ride wearing it. ‘I know…’ she thought, ‘I’ll leave it in exchange for the horse I have borrowed. Then, perhaps when I return the horse, the owner can return my shoe. It was the only plan she could come up with and she felt they had already over stayed their time at the palace. It would have to do for now. The longer she dawdled in the stables the more danger she was in of being caught, or, of her stepmother arriving home before her to discover she had gone. She wasn’t sure which punishment would be worse. With that thought in mind, Ella gathered her friends as best she could, leaving the shoe on the hay bale and set off home. 

***

Ella couldn’t have known how lucky she was to leave when she did. She made it home, put the animals away and had only just made it back down to the kitchen when her stepmother’s and stepsisters’ carriage pulled up to the front door. 

They blundered down the stairs, teasing one another, without even considering that Ella would have been asleep if she hadn’t snuck out to the ball. They demanded tea and biscuits and toast and, then hot milk and chocolate, and finally herbal concoctions to ease the pain in their feet from dancing all night. Drizella boasted of all the men who admired her while Anastasia said she’d had to refuse dances because the Prince would not be parted from her. Although Ella could tell they were lying and gloating, somehow, their words did not hurt her as much as they normally did. Instead, she almost pitied that they had to resort to lies and fantasies. It was sad that they had never learnt how to be content with the good things one had. Instead, they were constantly insecure and jealous about what they didn’t. Under the façade, it was clear they obviously had not enjoyed the night half as much as she had. 

While waiting for the water to boil on the stove, Ella allowed herself a minute to remember that first dance. She felt the tenderness of his hand as it slipped around her waist. She began to hum the music softly under her breath and recalled how the smooth waltz had transported her from the stone ballroom floor to feeling like she was flying amongst the fluffiest clouds. Dancing in front of all the lords and ladies of the land had been so nerve wrecking! She hadn’t danced with a man since her father had died – dancing with the mice (as much as she loved them) could never be considered the same as a human partner. Yet, once she saw her own uncertainty mirrored in Kit’s eyes, she felt calmer. There was comfort in knowing that they were in it together; so much so, that by the end of the dance she had forgotten they had an audience at all. He had held her so lightly and gently, his skin was soft and his eyes sparkled in the light of the chandelier. The palace seamstress must be very gifted because she had managed to find fabric for his jacket collar and cuffs in the exact shade of blue as his eyes. 

The whistling kettle brought her back the work at hand. Still, she knew it would not be long until her sisters went to bed and then she could dream the night all over again.


	3. No News and Bad News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella is home from the ball when she hears bad news.

It was a week after the ball, when Farmer Jameson had come to the door to sell his eggs, that Ella found out the news. The King was dead. He had gone to sleep the night before and not woken up. Rumour was that he had been ill for nearly a year and had chosen to keep it quiet for the strength and prosperity of the kingdom. Ella remembered the impact the news of her own father’s death had had on her and she grieved again, not just for her own father, but for the pain she knew Kit must now be feeling. She hoped to console herself by visiting the horse from the palace stables. 

She stopped running a little short of the stable door and began to talk in a low, soothing voice. Despite taking good care of the horse, Ella could tell that the animal wasn’t happy. She tried every trick she knew to keep it calm and healthy, even though she really didn’t have the time to be caring for another animal on top of her already extensive list of chores. Her lips pursed as she noticed the horse was even more jittery than the day before. Approaching the stall slowly, she asked the mare, ‘Do you want to see your palace friends again?’ The horse snorted softly and gave the palm of her hand a quick nudge. ‘I think they will be missing you too.’ Ella replied. With a sigh, she concluded it was time to let her friend go. No-one in town had heard any gossip of a glass slipper anyway. Ella had lost hope that the stable hand (who was the most likely person to have found the shoe) would have passed it onto Kit. As much as she disliked herself for it, it was easier to think that the stable hand had not found it important enough to pass on, than to face the fact that Kit knew and had decided not to ask about her whereabouts. 

It took Ella a minute of effort to unstick the stable doors so they would open wide enough for the horse to exit comfortably. Making a mental note to add replacing the door hinges to her never ending list of jobs, she walked the horse around the back of the gardens to the road. Her stepsisters and stepmother never came out this way and she was sure they were too busy making a mess of the house to notice them. ‘I hope it will make Kit happy to see you again’ Ella thought. Just as she was about to let go of the bridle, an idea struck her. ‘Wait here for one minute my friend, please. I have something special for you.’

With that, Ella hurried back to the house. In the kitchen, she pulled out some old paper and a pen and wrote a short note. She found a piece of ribbon she had once used for her hair and ran back to the horse, still patiently waiting for her at the back gate. Ella showed the note to the horse. ‘If I tie this note to the bridle, will you take it to him for me?’ she asked. With a short snort, the mare shook out its mane. Ella took this for a sign of confirmation (although admittedly she did not speak horse). ‘Thank you my friend. Now, off you go.’ The horse did not need telling twice. Ella lingered a moment more, finding joy in how it gracefully cantered down the road. One day, she swore to herself, she would also feel that kind of freedom. As much as she hated the idea of abandoning her family home, if an opportunity arose to escape her stepmother, she would run and not look back; but that was a secret thought for another day. Today her heart was too full with mourning.

Little did Ella know, her stepmother had seen the whole encounter from the upstairs window. The Madame did not like the thought that Ella had a secret friend she was writing to. It was dangerous to allow the girl to talk or write freely to anyone in town. She knew there were still towns people who were loyal to Ella and she couldn’t have them undermining her authority. The girl would have to be taught to keep her mouth shut. Besides, where did the silly thing find an extra horse? The Madame had had to hire horses with the carriage to take them to the ball because …. Unless … 

She’d just had a terrible thought. It was too much of a coincidence that a mystery princess turned up late, unannounced and unaccompanied at the ball and then vanished before the night was over at the same time as the serving girl acquired a new horse (a well bred one by the looks of it) and decided she liked taking late night walks in the rain. The Madame was not one to believe in such coincidences. No… she would investigate further and get to the bottom of whatever little scheme that wench had concocted. She would not allow herself to be disgraced by the orphan.


End file.
